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Join the ServerThe winding passage, which Heinzel had followed the dog through for quite some time, finally led to a dead end.
Standing before the impassable wall, Heinzel’s mind replayed the countless forks they had navigated.
His first concern was whether he could even find his way back correctly. He had trusted the dog, believing it knew the way, given how confidently it had trotted ahead. Now, he was struck by the second realization: he had ultimately put his faith in an animal.
‘What was he to do with this dog?’
The dog, now sprawled before the dead end, its tongue lolling as it panted, wore an expression that almost seemed to be smiling.
It was as though the creature was openly scoffing at him, its cheerful demeanor proclaiming, ‘I’m thrilled to have made a fool of this human.’
Realizing the precarious state of his own mind, Heinzel gazed up at the ceiling, attempting to regain his composure.
The thought of his second life ending in this dim, secret passage, trapped with a tiny, blood-colored dog and no idea when rescue might arrive, brought tears to his eyes.
He took a step closer, intending to grab the dog by the scruff and shake it, demanding some form of canine repentance. Just then, a small light flickered from the dead end.
It was difficult to ascertain the source of the light. He glanced back, surveying the path they had taken, but only pitch-black darkness greeted him.
Gulping, he swallowed hard, then extinguished the flame of the lamp he held.
A clearer crack of light was now visible from the dead end than before. If the light was indeed seeping through a gap between stones, then this wall might not be a dead end at all, but a door leading somewhere.
Opening the wall and stepping through would mean escaping this secret passage.
Hope surged within Heinzel’s heart.
If this wall was a door to a secret passage, then there must be a mechanism somewhere to open it. He approached the wall, his hands fumbling along its surface, when a muffled, humming voice reached his ears, indicating someone beyond.
‘Someone still awake at this late hour,’ Heinzel thought, surmising that this explained the room’s illuminated interior, allowing him to see its glow.
He considered that if he couldn’t find the passage’s mechanism, he would simply call out to the person beyond the wall to escape. Then, a sudden doubt occurred to him: would it be alright to expose the Duke’s secret passage in such a manner?
“…”
‘Who would possibly believe him if he claimed he had simply been led through this secret passage by a dog?’ Even Rosie wouldn’t believe such a tale.
Just knowing about the existence of this secret passage felt like a death flag had already been planted.
Instinct, sensing imminent danger, compelled him to act with caution. He stood still, lamp extinguished, and carefully regulated his breathing.
The adorable puppy he had cherished turned out to be a grim reaper, leading him straight to his doom. This secret passage, it seemed, was a shortcut to the underworld.
Heinzel felt a profound sense of betrayal, glancing at the dog’s innocent face and its deceptively cute backside.
He pressed his eye to the crack where the light seeped through, cautiously peering inside. He held a strong resolve to escape this secret passage the moment the person beyond the wall fell asleep.
‘Please, just let me avoid seeing any changing clothes or… any vigorous activities,’ he silently pleaded. ‘I don’t want to add a sin that would burden my conscience.’
As if his silent prayer had been heard, the person beyond the wall was neither changing clothes nor engaged in any nocturnal activities. Heinzel, however, immediately regretted his prayer, thinking that seeing them change clothes might have been preferable.
Among the numerous people residing in the Duke’s mansion, it was the Duchess’s face that he saw. Had it only been her, he might have hoped that as his mother, she would overlook the transgression of using the secret passage.
However, standing right beside the Duchess was Vant.
In the dead of night, when everyone else was asleep, if the Duke’s wife, who was on the verge of death, was alone in a room with a man introduced as her physician… what kind of situation should he imagine this to be?
Hainzel furrowed his brow, deep in thought.
He had followed the dog, only to witness the Duchess’s infidelity. Discovering the Duke’s hidden secret brought him no joy whatsoever.
Given the Duchess’s temperament, it wouldn’t be strange for her to simply eliminate an unloved son to ensure his silence.
Hainzel belatedly realized that this place was truly the gateway to hell. His plan to exit through this wall was promptly deleted from his mind.
He quietly turned around, resolving to search for another passage. The chances were slim, but perhaps with luck, he could find his way back to his bedroom.
Even if not, there would surely be another exit somewhere. If he could only confirm no one was around before leaving…
‘What am I to do now?’
Just as he was about to back away stealthily, careful not to make a sound, a voice clearer than before reached his ears.
“Speak!” the voice demanded. “Tell me what we are to do about this situation!”
“Ayla, calm yourself.”
“Calm? You tell me to calm down?” Her voice was a desperate whisper. “My son is dead! You guaranteed it! You guaranteed there would be no variables, that everything would go well… and now my son… Roquel…”
Hainzel’s fingertips, pressed against the wall, turned cold.
‘Roquel is dead?’ Heinzel thought, stunned. ‘That insolent brat is dead? He was rude, yes, but understanding that an eight-year-old is too young to know right from wrong, he was merely a child who was a bit too immature.’
‘He suddenly died overnight?’
Come to think of it, the Duchess and Vant were standing not *in* the bed, but beside it. When Heinzel shifted his gaze slightly, he saw a small body lying on the bed.
As if he had vomited blood, Roquel’s mouth, chin, and the front of his chest were entirely stained crimson. Not only that, but traces of blood flowed from his nose, closed eyes, and ears, making him look like a victim in a horror movie.
Yes, it was like a movie. Unless one was a doctor, such a gruesome sight was rarely encountered firsthand, making it feel even more unreal.
Fearing a scream might escape him, Heinzel clenched his jaw tightly, pressing a hand over his mouth for good measure.
He couldn’t even begin to guess what had happened. He hadn’t heard any news of Roquel’s death before falling asleep, nor had there been any rumors of anyone dying in the mansion.
This implied he had died overnight. ‘The Duke’s youngest son had died, yet it was this quiet?’ he wondered, bewildered.
“We can’t just stay like this,” Vant said urgently. “It will be morning soon. We have to clean this up before sunrise.”
“Clean up? How can we clean this up?” the Duchess cried, her voice strained. “It’s over now, it’s all over!”
“Ayla, pull yourself together!”
Though the Duchess spoke excitedly and incoherently, her face contorted with rage, her voice was suppressed, as if she feared the sound escaping outside. Vant gripped her shoulders, shaking her gently as he spoke in a grave tone.
The Duke’s youngest son had died, and they were talking about ‘cleaning up.’ They weren’t calling people to announce Roquel’s death, but to ‘clean up.’
The word ‘clean up’ felt more akin to someone who had committed a misdeed attempting to conceal it.
‘What kind of misdeed?’
Hainzel’s brow furrowed as he gazed at the deceased Roquel.
“I, too, am saddened by Roquel’s death, Ayla. My heart feels like it’s tearing apart. I didn’t want my son to die like this.”
“I hoped for a future where my son would grow up gracefully and become the Duke, not die like this…”
“Then you should have done better, you fool…”
The Duchess, who had been clutching the blanket as if to tear it apart, suppressing her rage, slapped Vant across the cheek. But more importantly, Heinzel’s breath hitched at the revelation: Roquel was Vant’s son.
His mind refused to hear any more, yet his body remained rooted to the spot, listening intently to the conversation beyond the wall. He now understood with certainty that humans inherently tend to be more curious about what they shouldn’t know.
“Perhaps… yes, perhaps it’s just like this,” Vant mused. “It could be due to the unique properties of the Defensio blood. Think about Heinzel. We thought that child was dead, but after some time, he regained consciousness.”
“He woke up a few days later as if nothing had happened.”
‘Heinzel?’
The name ‘Heinzel,’ coming from Vant’s lips, sounded unusually loud to him. With that one name, all the facts clearly clicked into place.
The reason Roquel died was the same reason Heinzel had collapsed. Heinzel had also ‘died’ like that and then regained consciousness.
The Duchess and Vant were the ones who had caused Heinzel’s ‘death.’ Sending Vant to check on Heinzel’s health all this time wasn’t for examination, but for observation of his body.
Only then did the uncomfortable and subtle unease he had felt from the Duchess and Vant’s attitudes unravel. Heinzel had to suppress a hollow laugh that threatened to escape him, utterly dumbfounded.
‘Good heavens. Duchess, you’re… doomed,’ Heinzel thought. ‘Heinzel is dead. Unless another person’s soul possesses Roquel’s body, he won’t come back to life.’
But the Duchess, unaware of Heinzel’s true thoughts, merely nodded at Vant’s words.
“Yes. Roquel will wake up too. Heinzel woke up, so my son can’t possibly die like this.”
Both Heinzel and Roquel were the Duchess’s sons, in a way. Her blatant favoritism was well-known, so Heinzel felt no fresh sting of resentment. He only felt pity for the Duchess, so convinced that Roquel would live.
“We were too hasty,” Vant muttered, clicking his tongue, a hint of regret in his voice. “We should have observed Heinzel’s condition a little longer.”
“We couldn’t delay any longer!” the Duchess retorted. “How much longer could Roquel endure, growing bigger every day? He’s almost ten! If we had waited any longer, others would have realized he wasn’t the old Duke’s child. We couldn’t let that happen. If I’d intended for it to end so futilely, I wouldn’t have even touched the old man.”
“Even so, we should have waited until the next expedition.”
“You… did you make a mistake by rushing?”
“No, that’s impossible!” Vant emphatically denied, jumping to his feet. “It was perfect. There wasn’t a single mistake. You know how much trouble I went through to refine it carefully, making sure no impurities were mixed in.”
Vant added his excuses, his face slightly intimidated, as if gauging the Duchess’s mood. Her ferocity had lessened somewhat, but her gaze, still fixed on the dead Roquel, glinted with a mad intensity.
“Don’t just stand there, hurry and wipe away the blood. We need to move him back to Roquel’s bedroom before dawn. Our son will wake up after a good night’s sleep.”
“Then what about the Defensio blood?”
“That… it seems it truly isn’t meant for humans after all. Still, it’s a relief. Our Roquel will be fine.”
‘He won’t be fine,’ Heinzel thought, swallowing a sigh. He felt a pang of pity for Vant and the Duchess, who were so thoroughly mistaken and deluded.
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